Alfie walks back to the others after his disappointing tour. He catches up with Ahmad and Rani easily enough.
"I'm back from a visit to the spirit world. Nothing interesting there. Actually, probably something very interesting, as usual, but I didn't find it. Have you learned anything of interest?" he asks.
A moment after he had addressed Taryn, something clicked in Oscar's brain: the set of footprints that had been approaching him weren't new. They were the same, smaller set of supernatural tracks he had been following. And their owner was now standing right there in front of him.
Oxcar looked askance at Taryn.
"What did you find in there?" He indicates inside the crime scene.
Taryn stares at Oscar levelly for a moment before she responds. "Only what I said. The scents were confused, but there's no mistaking the feel of a feeding."
"I just got to town. Has anyone else gone missing? If not, the only place with plenty of prey would be the woods..." Something gleamed behind her eyes as she spoke. "Feeling up to it?"
Smiling ruefully at Alfie, Rani replied after a moment, "Not a lot. I'm not really sure what's going on. I think Taryn and Oscar might have found some more out, though, so I wanted to try and reconnect with them before deciding what to do next. If they already know what's in the woods, for example, that will be a big help. And I'd really like to double check that the little girl really is safe, if we can." Rani glanced around to see if she could spot where the duo had gotten to. She assumed they were pretty close.
"I just got to town. Has anyone else gone missing? If not, the only place with plenty of prey would be the woods..." Something gleamed behind her eyes as she spoke. "Feeling up to it?"
"The woods is a good idea. But we should get the others before we go in. More eyes on the problem."
Oscar starts to head back to Alfie and the others.
When he saw Taryn and Oscar return, Ahmad walked away with Rani and Alfie until they were safely away from the police officers and any other curious eyes and ears, ending up on the same playground as before.
“So…what did you find out?” He looked around himself and then sighed. “There’s definitely something weird going on here. It wasn’t an animal — or at least no regular animal. Also, it was strong enough to take on an armed cop and really, well, torn the poor guy apart. They’re going to have Gates looking at what’s left of him.”
As the conversation went on, he answered his companions’ questions as best as he could.
Rani whistled. "No wonder the police officers are a touch tetchy. Anything that can kill one armed police officer has the potential to kill any. It's sounding more like our side of the world, though." She paused. "Do your police wear, uh, stab vests or other armour?" She wasn't sure how accurate the TV shows of American cops, usually without armour but with a ton of guns, were. Most UK officers on patrol wore stab vests.
Taryn tilted her head in a noncommittal reply to Rani's question about armor. "If it couldn't kill a cop, I wouldn't need to hunt it. It smelled hungry though. This was a feeding, so if more humans haven't been killed, then it's hiding somewhere else. "
"I can confirm it's definitely not a regular animal. It's supernatural. It went off in that direction," Oscar indicates a direction into the woods with nod of his head.
"What did you see in the crime scene," Oscar asks Taryn. "This wasn't your first attempt to get in, was it." Oscar's tone of voice makes it clear that his question is actually a statement.
"Gates is looking at the body, you say?" Alfie notes. "I think I'd like a meeting with him later, assuming they let me; some folks get touchy when I try to get near dead bodies."
“How close do you need to be to the…dead…person to see anything, Alfie? Nothing against Gates, but, you know, it might be hard to get them to let us waltz in there with no reason.”
He thought for a second. “So, what do you guys think? Should we try and take a look around the morgue and then go for a little walk in the woods?”
"Is there anyway to check on the little girl? It would be good to know she's actually safe before we start, if any of you know the family?" Rani hated not knowing for sure, even if the chances were good that the police were right.
"I don't exactly need to be next to the dead person. I just need to be able to positively identify which spirit is which, so the presence of the body helps."
To Rani, he shakes his head. "I only barely know even my neighbors."
Ahmad puckered his lips. “I actually just assumed the cops were covering things up and that Alice did disappear because of this…thing. Have to say, though, it is a bit odd to think it ripped a guy to shreds in the middle of the town, but kidnapped a kid.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I know the sheriff and his ex-wife, though, so I guess we could just drop by. Mum might be there already.”
Taryn stares flatly at Oscar, eyes unblinking. "Nothing more than what I said."
She looks a bit restless, but assents. "If the morgue will lead to a trail, fine."
The binoculars tracked the stranger as she evaded the unaware law enforcement officers investigating the crime scene. Was she really that good? Or were they simply even more incapable than first thought? Eventually she settled behind a cement truck. Practically right under their noses and yet still unseen! She lifted her head, moving it this way and that.
"Interesting. She's trying to pick up a scent." The voice was low, with just a hint of a growl underneath it.
"Is she...is she one of you?" The second voice was higher, laced with the undertones of fear and uncertainty.
"One of us you mean. It is possible."
"What, uhh, what are we going to do about her?"
"For now, nothing. We will simply need to be more careful on future hunts. If she continues to interfere, well, a more challenging prey might be quite entertaining."
"F-future hunts? Wasn't last night enough?"
There was a soft chuckle. "Don't play coy with me. I can feel your hunger even as I feel my own."
There was a long pause. Silent acknowledgement of the statement.
"Now, I believe you had an idea for our next target..."
*****
Just past the wide double-doors of the entrance was a lobby/waiting area. Beyond the mostly-empty chairs was a desk with a deputy who looked up upon entering. "Well howdy. What can I do for you fine folk?" He gave a friendly smile, and the name plate on the desk identified him as Deputy Andy Thompson.
Behind him is a wall with large, glass windows that stretch from about waist-high to almost the ceiling. Through the window can be seen more desks and more law enforcement officers in an open bullpen area. A few seem to be talking to civilians. To one side of this wall is a door opening into that area.
*****
Parked in the front, Ahmad recognized his mother's car, confirming his suspicion that she had already arrived, most likely with an abundance of food in tow. There was also a beat up old sedan sitting out front that he didn't recognize.
There was a brief pause as the doorbell was rung. Then a moment later, a young redheaded girl with baby blue eyes*, probably in her early high school years, opened the door. Upon seeing Ahmad, she smiled brightly. "Oh, Mr. Elmohtar, what are you doing here?"
Alfie usually prefers to let others take center stage when dealing with humans, because he is aware that he has a habit of saying disconcerting things. The problem with saying stupid things is that you don't know they sound stupid until after you say them.
Alfie sees what appears to be a werewolf in the bullpen. Unsurprisingly, since he had just gone to the spirit world to search for a werewolf, and the image must have been etched into him somehow. But since all the other policemen were right there with no sign of alarm, maybe it was just a plain wolf after all, or even a police dog. But it looked like a werewolf, and he wasn't about to take any chances.
Turning his back to Deputy Thompson, he points and asks Oscar and Taryn, veiling his language in case he gets heard, "Do you think that... dog... is supposed to be there?"
Rani smiled and waved to the young girl, but let Ahmed handle the introductions.
The Morgue
===========
Oscar only vaguely registers Alfie's odd question as he scans the bullpen behind Deputy Thompson. The police make him nervous. They were always too busy being suspicious of him instead of listening. Always so dismissive. Even after it was obvious he was right.
As he scanned the room, he wondered at the secrets they were keeping. They couldn't let every truth known to everyone, obviously, but if they'd just be willing to share what they knew with people who knew what was really at stake -- people like him -- he could do so much with that information.
But as Oscar scanned their faces, suspicious of what knowledge they had, it became apparent that they were... on edge. He started thinking about what knowledge they didn't have. Obviously, they wanted to solve this investigation, but there was something more. Oscar stops looking at the officers' faces in suspicion and starts looking in consideration. He noticed several copies of the Argus Leader* on several desks. He knew from earlier that today's front page already had an article about yesterday's killing.
If he was reading the room right, it wasn't what they didn't know (surely they must be used to that), it's that they found something out that they don't know what to do with. Something unsettling.
Turning to Deputy Thompson, Oscar bluntly asked, "Do you guys need any help with your cases? Since I'm sure everyone's so busy with what happened at the construction site."
* Thanks Wikipedia!
“Oh, hi there, Chloe! How are things? Sorry dropping by unannounced, but mom mentioned she’d be here and I wanted to see if anyone needed anything before I go for a walk with…wait, sorry, I don’t think you’ve met? Rani, this is Chloe, one of my students. She’s an angel. Chloe, this is Rani, a good friend from out of town.”
As they were welcomed inside, Ahmad whispered so only Chloe and Rani could hear him. “Hope mom is not bothering you guys too much. She can be a handful.”
Deputy Thompson smiled. "Well now, that's mighty kind of you, but we're here to help you, not the other way around. If the Sheriff thinks we need the extra hands, he'll put out the call, either to one of the neighboring towns or the community at large, so don't you fret none about that. If you'd like though, I could take down your contact information and add it to our list of community volunteers, so you'll be among the very first to hear if that call goes out."
*****
"A bit more hectic than I thought Memorial Day weekend would be, but otherwise things are fine Mr. Elmohtar." Chloe's blue eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief as she was introduced to Ahmad's "good friend," though she kept any comment to herself as she reached out a hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Rani."
Reading the implied request to be admitted, she held the door open wider, closing it behind the two. While the house was kept relatively neat and orderly, there were small signs that a bundle of chaos called this place home. Small shoes tossed haphazardly on top of neatly order rows of bigger ones. A stuffed animal lying forgotten under a piece of furniture. A lost lego piece kicked into a corner. And every once in a while, a grimy set of fingerprints in some overlooked nook.
Chloe giggled softly as she led Ahmad and Rani deeper into the house towards the sound of two women chatting. "Who can say no to someone who comes baring delicious food? Though if I had known she was bringing so much, I wouldn't have brought Ms. Campbell that casserole." A moment later, the living room came into view, revealing Fatima Elmohtar and Sarah Campbell sitting on a loveseat chatting. Or somewhat more accurately, Fatima talking at Sarah as the other woman half-heartedly poked at a plate of food. Chloe waved at a second loveseat opposite to the first, indicating that Ahmad and Rani should help themselves to a seat as she walked off and came back a moment later with a wooden chair for herself.
As soon as she saw him, Fatima greeted her son. "Ahh, Ahmad! Have you finished speaking to the Sheriff? Has he agreed to the search party? I was just telling Ms. Campbell about your wonderful idea."
"And it's lovely to meet you to," Rani said as she smiled again and walked inside. Looking at Ahmad's mother, and the woman sitting in the love seat, Rani glanced over at Ahmad. That did not look like a woman who knew her daughter to be safe and sound, but perhaps there was more to it.
Taking a seat as she was invited to do, Rani looked over at the lady. "We've spoken with the police officers, and we're intending to have a look in the woods in a bit." Both true, if not quite as connected as it might seem. "We just thought we should find out more details about what's going on." She smiled reassuringly. "Anything you can speak of would be lovely."
Distracted as he was about the recent events, Ahmad only realised how “good friend” would have been understood by a teenager after seeing Chloe’s reaction.
‘Oh well, if it keeps them entertained.’
“The whole school will be thinking you’re my girlfriend after this,” he whispered with an apologetic face to Rani when he had the chance.
“Mama, just as Rani said, yes. We’ll take care of it. Are you both…uh…ok? Need anything before we head out?”
As the hallucination disappears, Alfie puts the weird sighting out of his mind for the time being, to try and persuade the deputy before they get expelled from the lobby.
"Actually," Alfie adds, "we wanted to ask in particular if we could help with the autopsy. As I've been told, Dr. Jesse Gates, who is looking at the late Deputy Michelson's body, is having some trouble determining the cause of death. We wanted to contribute our skills, since we have some pertinent experience: we've been present during some wolf attacks in the past, and also have had to handle dead bodies."
Deputy Thompson smiled. "Well now, that's mighty kind of you, but we're here to help you, not the other way around. If the Sheriff thinks we need the extra hands, he'll put out the call, either to one of the neighboring towns or the community at large, so don't you fret none about that. If you'd like though, I could take down your contact information and add it to our list of community volunteers, so you'll be among the very first to hear if that call goes out."
Oscar nodded and gave his contact information, knowing full well that whomever handled this particular bit of data entry would already find Oscar's name on that list. He's used this particular diversionary question before. Ironically, Oscar also knew that no cop who recognized his name would ever want to reach out to him for help.
Oscar waits to see how Alfie's request is received.
Taryn hasn't done a lot to disguise herself, a different jacket, a pair of sunglasses, a quick rake through her hair. If Orwell cares enough to take a second or third look she can deal with that then.
She didn't care much about getting the cops' understanding of what was going on, she just needed to make sure the body could be found. They're busy. A lot of bustle. A lot of new faces.
Sarah rubbled her temple absently. "I dunno. Do you really think talking to my father would do anything? He's so convinced Alice is with Bryce. He never liked him. Never approved of our marriage. But I just...I can't picture Bryce just taking her without saying anything. Surely he would at least let me know she was safe, right? But now she's gone, and I can't reach him. Do you...do you think father is right? I just...I just don't know what to do." Her voice cracked slightly as she stared off into the distance.
Fatima rubbed her arm comfortingly. "There there. This is why we need to organize the community! The more bodies we have, the more places we can look, the faster we find Alice, yes? Whether she got lost in the woods or whether that inconsiderate lout of an ex-husband has taken her and run off. What is the point in coming to one of these small towns if we don't all stick together and look out for each other, eh?"
*****
Deputy Thompson took Oscar's contact information as he smiled apologetically at Alfie. "Oh gee, I'm sorry friend, but you're just a smidge too late. Dr. Gates was just up here stretching his legs. He said he had already finished his autopsy and just needed to turn his notes into an official report."
As suddenly as it had faded away, the werewolf that only Alfie could see reappeared, this time not in the bullpen, but on this side of the lobby. Its eyes flashed red briefly as its gaze locked with the medium.
"I hope you didn't go to too much effort to come all the way down here just for that," the deputy continued.
The werewolf growled, teeth glistening and sharp. It stalked closer, saliva dripping from its fangs to form small droplets on the floor. With an agile leap, it landed on top of the deputy's desk.
"But hey, now I reckon you can spend the rest of your afternoon enjoying the beautiful fall air instead of down in some gloomy old morgue. That's much nicer, if I do say so myself!"
The man seemed completely unaware of the danger he was in, but Alfie could feel the creature's hot breath on his face. Smell the blood from its last meal. It seemed to smile as it leaned in closer. For a brief moment, Alfie was convinced it was about to bite into his neck and tear away at his soft, supple flesh with its inhuman strength. Instead, it spoke in a soft lilting voice. I know what you did, little human. You set her free. Now, it is *our* time to roam these realms. With a sudden movement, the wolf jumped up from where it had been crouched and howled. Its call was joined by another. Then another. The baying, barking, and growling of hounds filled Alfie's ears. As the cacophony of sounds surrounded him, the werewolf slowly lowered its head, smiling at him.
Suddenly, it all stopped, leaving only deafening silence in its wake.
"Was there anything else I could help you fine folk with?" The deputy's words seemed to break whatever spell Alfie had been under as a moment later, the predator before disappeared like smoke blown before a breeze. His final words echoing gently past Alfie's ears. The Hunt has begun...
He looked a little like he was about to start entering Oscar's information but seemed to realize that would be rude, instead asking, "Was there anything else I could help you fine folk with?"
As he talked, Taryn noticed a slight breeze that carried with it the smell of acetone and other chemicals. Turning to her right there was a short hallway that lead to the restrooms. On the upper section of the wall was a grate through which the air was blowing. It wouldn't be particularly comfortable, but it looked large enough to be crawled through and the area was conveniently out of direct line of sight from someone sitting at the front desk. While it was unclear exactly where else the vent might lead, by the smell of chemicals it was at least connected to the morgue somewhere.
"Was there anything else I could help you fine folk with?" Deputy Thompson asked.
Taryn flashed her teeth at Deputy Thompson, shaking her head as she demurred.
"Vents." She whispered to her companions, and abruptly she was off. No eyes on the vents and the smell of familiar chemicals in her nose meant this was the way.
Oscar heard Taryn mutter something and saw her start to move. At the same time, he notices Alfie seemingly distracted by something. He whips his head back around to Deputy Thompson.
"Bathroom!" he barks. "I need to use it. I was holding it until we got here. Kind of an emergency."
Rani nodded in understanding. "You know her father better than I. If you feel he would tell you then you're probably right." Then again, they were broken up now - and spite was a powerful motivator. "So, you haven't heard from her since she disappeared? OK." Perhaps the father had been in touch with the police, provided them with evidence...or perhaps they were dealing with a killing of one of there own and hearsay was taken as fact for a while. Hard to say.
"Can you tell me what happened? How did she vanish? And I know it's a long shot, with her being so young, but did she have an emergency mobile phone or anything like that?" Rani considered. "Cell phone, sorry."
Rani nodded in understanding. "You know her father better than I. If you feel he would tell you then you're probably right." Then again, they were broken up now - and spite was a powerful motivator. "So, you haven't heard from her since she disappeared? OK." Perhaps the father had been in touch with the police, provided them with evidence...or perhaps they were dealing with a killing of one of there own and hearsay was taken as fact for a while. Hard to say.
"Can you tell me what happened? How did she vanish? And I know it's a long shot, with her being so young, but did she have an emergency mobile phone or anything like that?" Rani considered. "Cell phone, sorry."
After a few odd jerking movements, Alfie emerges from his reverie and finds himself alone.
"Understood," Alfie lies. He briskly walks away from the police officer until he finds Taryn or Oscar (or the wolf!).
Alfie walks next to Oscar until they're some distance from the police officer. "I saw a werewolf right in front of us," Alfie says immediately and bluntly. "I felt it, I heard it, and I heard others too. Judging by the look on your face, I was the only one. I don't know if it was just nonsense, but it didn't seem like nonsense. I had set her free, it said. Who is "she"? And a hunt has begun. What is the hunt? I don't know."
"Oh, and did the police officer say something interesting? I didn't catch it."
Deputy Thompson blinked in surprise at Oscar's sudden outburst before pointing in the direction Taryn had taken off. "Yeah sure, bathrooms are that way. You can't miss 'em."
The hallway wasn't especially long, the main points of interest being first the entrance to the women's restroom and then the men's. It was at least long enough to put the entrance to both out of line-of-sight from the person sitting at the lobby desk and to make whispered conversations inaudible to all in the lobby save those with exceptional hearing and a strong desire to eavesdrop.
The vent Taryn seemed interested in stood near the ceiling just opposite the men's restroom door. Judging by the grate covering it, it would be large enough for someone to crawl into.
*****
"No, god, of all things I didn't want her to spend too much time with electronic devices, so I thought I'd try to hold off as long as possible before having to get her one." Sarah gave a wet laugh. "That seems so stupid now. I should have made sure to give her a cell just in case of emergencies." She took a deep breath. "It was just any other Thursday, y'know? I picked her up after school. We drove home. She played out in the front yard while I watched. Then the pet store delivery guy showed up, and I had to get the rabbit he was delivering upstairs before she saw, but I swear I was only gone for a few minutes and when I came back, she was gone!"
Chloe cocked her head to one side, "Oh, were you getting a friend for Mr. Hippityhop?" Seeing the puzzled looks, she quickly added, "Alice's pet rabbit."
Sarah shook her head. "No, Mr. Hippityhop died earlier this week. I told Alice he had just run away. The new rabbit was supposed to replace him: I was going to put the new one in the old cage and tell her he had come back. I thought that she'd never have to know. But it was stupid idea, I never should have let her out of my sight!"
Fatima patted her on the shoulder. "Now now, how were you to know? How often have to left her outside and she's been fine? Ahmad, how many times did I leave you alone outside growing up, eh? This is a good town, with good people. A safe place for children. This is why I say she probably just wandered off and got lost. We are not far from the woods, so best idea is if we organize search party to go look for her. We find her then, no problem."
"But what if Father's right and Bryce showed up early and just took her? This was supposed to be his weekend with her. I just...I don't understand why he wouldn't have at least told me she's safe. Or why he hasn't answered any of my texts or calls."
"Then we find him as well. There are enough people in this town that we can do both! Search woods and look for possibly no good ex-husband." Fatima was rubbing small circles on Sarah's back.
Ahmad nodded at his mother’s advice. “Yeah, there’s no use in beating yourself over it. How many times you let her out of your sight and nothing bad happened? Or even something good? It’s like with your parents: you cannot keep an eye on them all the time.” He winked at Fatima.
“About the father, though…is it normal for him to not reply to your messages? Where does he live? We could check it out before we go to the woods.”
Rani nodded in agreement. "I'm not a parent, so I can't imagine how much this hurts. But you can't blame yourself for allowing your child some freedom." She assumed the father was too far to easily check on - the woman wouldn't be sat here, her daughter missing, if she could easily pursue that angle. And what were the chances that the father just happened on them in a vulnerable moment? He could be stalking the woman, perhaps, but still...
"Could you tell us the pet store's name again, please?" It was worth making sure the pet guy didn't have a connection if the trail went cold, and she assumed there was no home security footage - again, they'd already be watching it if she had something like that.
Using her claws, Taryn had already managed to get the bottom two screws off of the vent. However, it quickly became clear that the metal wasn't going to bend enough to allow her entrance without also removing the top two screws. And based on the size of the vent, she likely would not be able to turn around once inside to pull it closed behind her.
*****
Sarah gave a half-shrug to Ahmad's question. "Yes and no. If he's working he can be hard to get ahold of, but he's normally very good at making sure to be available while he has Alice or when he's going to be picking her up. There has only been maybe one or two times when I wasn't able to reach him when he was late to picking her up. He has a place on the south side of town, but he wasn't there when I checked on Thursday. He travels a lot for work, and it's typically when he's out of town that it's harder to get ahold of him." She gave a soft laugh. "He's always forgetting to charge his phone, so he made sure to have a landline set up there so even if he forgot, we'd still be able to reach him. You're free to take a look if you want though." She rattled off the address of the apartment as well as the name of the pet store she bought the replacement rabbit from.
Oscar responds to Alfie's description of the werewolf with a surprised grunt and the comment, "I thought you only saw dead people."
He fills Alfie in on the conversation with Deputy Thompson and how they've been denied access to the morgue. And that Taryn went off somewhere, although he points the direction she went in.
Nodding her thanks, Rani entered the useful information into her phone, in the semi-shaky theory that her mobile was far less likely to go through the washing machine than a note was. Or get forgotten. Or fallout a pocket unnoticed.
"We'll take a look at his house before we go searching, and we'll message you if we find anything," she said comfortingly. Still, she was starting to wonder if it was the father after all. If maybe he'd had an encounter with 'something' on the road, and was operating on a more primal level of instinct. Taking his daughter to secure his 'pack'...
Well, it was just an idea, but one they would want to check out.
She looked to see if Ahmad had any more questions. If not she would try and wrangle one of the child's toys or the like, something linked to her, to use her Magic with. Maybe she could pretend they had a tracker dog? Or maybe the woman would be more inclined to the psychic explanation? Hard to say, having known her for ten minutes.
Taryn quickly removed the remaining screws, sliding the vent cover behind a nearby chair and trusting to change blindness to keep anyone who wandered past from noticing that it was gone.
They'll follow or they'll cover my trail. Either will serve.
With a quick "hut" she hauled herself up into the vent in a single smooth motion, not the least bit discomfited by being back on all fours as she followed her nose down to the morgue...
“Thanks. You wouldn’t happen to have a key to his place, right? Anyway, mama, you stay here and take care of Mrs. Campbell. I think it’s good neither of you is alone. Chloe, please get my number from mama, just in case you need it.”
As they were about to leave, Ahmad noticed Rani staring at one of the toys lying on the ground and, assuming she was thinking about Taryn’s magical super-snoot, turned around. “Hey, I just remembered, we have friend who is…I mean, who has a good hunting dog they. uh, might bring along, so would it be ok if we borrowed a toy Alice uses a lot?”
“So, where to next? Pet shop then Bryce?” He asked Rani once they were outside. Without really thinking, he kneels down to play with the grass as he speaks, feeling the blades between his fingers.
Rani raised an eyebrow as Ahmad tried to get what she needed, but nodded in support. "Something she used a lot, if you can. Something with her scent strongly attached or favourite shirt would be ideal." A well loved toy or clothing item would have the best attachment.
"I'd say we should check the dad's home first."
After a few handfuls of minutes, either by touch or by the light of a cell phone, Taryn came upon a vertical shaft in the middle of her path before the vent continued onwards. The chemical smell came from down the shaft. Unsurprising since she had been told the morgue was in the basement of the building, a floor below the level she came in on. She wasn't in any rush, so getting down likely wouldn't be all that challenging. However, the same could not be said for climbing back up if she wished to return this way.
*****
Sarah snorted. "Part of being exes means we don't have keys to each others' places anymore."
As Sarah started to rise to find a toy to hand over, Chloe made a 'stay there' motion before hurrying off. A moment later the sound of her quickly climbing the stairs could be heard. After a few minutes later, she could be heard descending once more. Frowning slightly, the redhead held out a blanket to Ahmad. "I looked for Mr. Twinkles, her stuffed rabbit, but didn't see it. This should be the next best thing. When I'm babysitting her, she refuses to go to bed unless I've tucked her in with it." The blanket in question was pale blue with little pink cartoon bunny rabbits all over it. It was faded and clearly very well-loved.
As the duo left the house, they could hear Fatima still talking to Sarah. "Come now, you must eat! You will need the strength to help talk your father into that search party later..." before the voice was muffled once more by Chloe closing the door behind them.
As he fiddled with the grass just off of the main walkway to the house, Ahmad noticed a small, yellow post-it note. It was smudged with dirt and on it in messy handwriting was written six numbers: 031613
"I'll close the vent, since you were supposed to be in the bathroom," Alfie says to Oscar. If no objections are raised, Alfie begins to screw the cover back onto the vent.